Cold hardiness & minimum temperature

Is Lonicera caprifolium (Lonicera caprifolium)cold hardy? Hardiness zone & min temp

Also called Italian honeysuckle, goat-leaf honeysuckle.

More about lonicera caprifolium

About Lonicera caprifolium

Lonicera caprifolium · also called Italian honeysuckle, goat-leaf honeysuckle · flowering

Italian honeysuckle is a vigorous deciduous twining climber prized for its sweetly scented, cream-to-pink tubular flowers in early summer and the fused 'goat-leaf' pairs below them. It thrives in full sun to part shade on a fertile, moist, well-drained soil with its roots in cool shade. Its red autumn berries can cause mild stomach upset in pets.

Cold limit: USDA 5-9 (outdoor garden climber) · RHS H6 (hardy throughout most of the UK) (-15 to 25°C)

What lonicera caprifolium's hardiness rating actually means

Yes — lonicera caprifolium is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 5-9 (outdoor garden climber), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. Its RHS rating of H6 means: Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe. On the US scale that maps to USDA 5-9 (outdoor garden climber) — the zones where it can be left outdoors year-round.

New to these scales? The USDA hardiness zone map explained covers how the zone numbers work, and you can find your own zone with the zone finder.

Minimum temperature — and what happens below it

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. Lonicera caprifolium is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

Concretely, for lonicera caprifolium as it gets too cold:

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 to −15 °C once established.
Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root.
First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.

Can lonicera caprifolium go outside or overwinter — and where?

Plant it out within USDA 5-9 (outdoor garden climber) and it overwinters with little or no help.
It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy.
The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

Work back from your local frost dates with the frost-date calculator: the last spring frost and first autumn frost are what really decide when lonicera caprifolium can be outside. US growers can check USDA zones; UK growers should use the RHS hardiness ratings, which match the H6 figure above.

Lonicera caprifolium hardiness — frequently asked questions

Is lonicera caprifolium cold hardy?

Yes — lonicera caprifolium is genuinely cold hardy. Rated RHS H6 and USDA 5-9 (outdoor garden climber), it lives outdoors all year and needs winter cold rather than protection from it. An outdoor plant. Lonicera caprifolium is hardy across USDA 5-9 (outdoor garden climber); it belongs in the ground or a frost-proof container, not on a windowsill, and many types actively need a cold winter to perform.

What is the minimum temperature lonicera caprifolium can survive?

Minimum survivable temperature is roughly about −20 to −15 °C. Lonicera caprifolium is built for winter — once established it takes hard frost and snow in its stride.

What hardiness zone is lonicera caprifolium?

Lonicera caprifolium is rated USDA 5-9 (outdoor garden climber) and RHS H6 — Hardy throughout the UK and northern Europe.

Can lonicera caprifolium survive winter outside?

Plant it out within USDA 5-9 (outdoor garden climber) and it overwinters with little or no help. It does not want to come indoors — a warm winter room actually weakens a hardy plant by denying it dormancy. The real risks in its range are waterlogging, wind-rock on young plants, and a late hard frost on new growth — not ordinary winter cold.

What happens to lonicera caprifolium below its minimum temperature?

It tolerates winter lows to about −20 to −15 °C once established. Below its rated zone, the visible damage is browned or blackened top growth and, in the worst case, a killed crown or root. First-year, newly planted, or container-grown specimens are noticeably less hardy than established garden plants — the roots are exposed.